Food: didn't know Italians were so picky about their carbonara!

[Multicore]

Anyone that gets into the more ambitioned restaurant business these days means well and does so out of passion for something they believe in. It is super hard work. It is not very profitable unless you score a Michelin star.

And the only way to differentiate is by doing something creative. Cooking the umpteenth iteration of the same thing doesn't get anyone excited.

And with pretty much every dish, our grand mothers didnt own a patent to the original.

I think your statements follow from your definition of "ambitioned restaurant business", or perhaps are the definition.

 

[computer-audiophile]

It is not very profitable unless you score a Michelin star.

Lately I've been reading more and more about excellent restaurants in Germany that are giving up because it's no longer profitable and they can't find staff. That's sad and also strange, because it obviously worked n the past.

 

[SIY]

it's no longer profitable and they can't find staff.

Staffing is our #1 problem. And with new laws in place regarding pay (even for workers of not high quality or skill), we have to raise prices to the point where we lose customers.

 

[xaviescacs]

In the Barcelona region you have professionals with studies or amateurs, there is no mid point and it's quite hard for little restaurants to find people with a minimum of skills that they can afford to pay.

 

[cavedriver]

Lately I've been reading more and more about excellent restaurants in Germany that are giving up because it's no longer profitable and they can't find staff. That's sad and also strange, because it obviously worked n the past.

I think it's been said that the cost mechanics of restaurants- providing food at a price that's worth it versus making it yourself - relies on either mechanical efficiencies ("restaurant" can make food with less labor than at home, ie- fast food) or cheap labor. As the salaries of the people making the food approaches the income of the customers the restaurant model tapers off in attractiveness and ultimately fails. Of course there is space "around the edges", underpaid people, ethnic food made by immigrants, gourmet food bought only by the wealthy, but the "middle", good native food at reasonable prices, would disappear. Granted this is all by degrees and maybe there's a steady state in-between, but the reliance on income inequality can be seen simply when one can say, "my time is worth so much that I can justify paying someone else to cook me food".

EDIT- just so this doesn't turn political, I'm NOT trying to advocate for or against any current topic, simply proffering one analysis of the mechanics of the costs of the restaurant business vs home cooking, to be up/down voted, analyzed, commented on, etc. by us here.

 

[BlackTalon]

Real szechuan cooking? For the eastern US, maybe 5 restaurants in Brooklyn and Queens, NY, but none of the ones in DC get it truly right, and one or two in Philly sort of, kind of, get there.

So Peter Chang's places don't cut it? (I'm curious, as I'm definitely not an expert)

 

[cavedriver]

So Peter Chang's places don't cut it? (I'm curious, as I'm definitely not an expert)

Peter Chang himself is reportedly an excellent cook, and the restaurant menu in MD at least presents some original takes on Szechuan cooking, like the dry fry eggplant, which is delicious, and in the summer they sometimes offer one of my favorite dishes, Liang Feng, a spicy cold bean noodle appetizer. The problem is that compared to places I've been in Queens, the traditional dishes are just not "on point" enough. It still manages to feel watered down. But it is the best I know of in the region. On a good day, though, Han Dynasty in Philly, which modifies and waters down Szechuan cooking but in different ways, is better. Otoh, the Han Dynasty in Manhattan was way off last time I tested them. The places in Queens are better.

 

[cavedriver]

Looks like Italy is going to war with itself - one of the biggest names in "traditional" pizza in Naples just added pineapple to their toppings list!! Expecting there to be firebombings...

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/pineapple-pizza-italy-naples/index.html

 

[BlackTalon]

Grilled pineapple is delicious.

I am firmly in the "pineapple and pork is great on a pizza" camp. I'm Italian by heritage, but obviously 'merican by diet

 

[Keith_W]

Looks like Italy is going to war with itself - one of the biggest names in "traditional" pizza in Naples just added pineapple to their toppings list!! Expecting there to be firebombings...

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/pineapple-pizza-italy-naples/index.html

OH MY GOD!!!

This guy must be the Elon Musk of the pizza world. So successful that he doesn't care any more, just says and does things and ignores what people think of him!

 

[cavedriver]

This guy must be the Elon Musk of the pizza world. So successful that he doesn't care any more, just says and does things and ignores what people think of him!

I will say I've had the fried pizza from his shop in Naples and it was phenomenal. Is he getting too famous for his own good? perhaps.

 

[Keith_W]

Looks like Italy is going to war with itself - one of the biggest names in "traditional" pizza in Naples just added pineapple to their toppings list!! Expecting there to be firebombings...

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/pineapple-pizza-italy-naples/index.html

I sent that link to my Italian friend, knowing that it would upset him. He did not disappoint:

 

[theREALdotnet]

I’m sure Sorbillo is laughing all the way to the bank

With this laser focus on the really important things in life, is it any wonder that Italy hasn’t had a functioning government in 50 years?

 

[Brubaker]

in Italy the very audiophiles and gourmets make their own fresh pasta during the holidays!
and you must add a very good wine...

and lunch is served...

buon appetito e buon anno!

 

[cavedriver]

I sent that link to my Italian friend, knowing that it would upset him. He did not disappoint:

I wonder what your friend thinks the best fried pizza in Naples is? I tried the other Sorbillo family locations (the aunt and not Gino runs them iirc) and they were not that great. I don't know if Italians actually respect the fried pizza tbh, I saw plenty of Italian people eating it while I was there but the food cognoscenti?

 

[Digby]

I wonder what your friend thinks the best fried pizza in Naples is? I tried the other Sorbillo family locations (the aunt and not Gino runs them iirc) and they were not that great. I don't know if Italians actually respect the fried pizza tbh, I saw plenty of Italian people eating it while I was there but the food cognoscenti?

They'll deep fry a pizza for you in Scotland - a Mars bar too, if you fancy some pudding.

 

[cavedriver]

They'll deep fry a pizza for you in Scotland - a Mars bar too, if you fancy some pudding.

Living in the UK I gather you're worried you're going to turn into a Scotsman?

 

[Digby]

View attachment 339597

buon appetito e buon anno!

is it usual for it to have so little meat and sauce?

 

[Esprit]

You eat pasta with its sauce, not the sauce with the pasta.
Then it depends on the recipe and personal taste.

 

[Brubaker]

is it usual for it to have so little meat and sauce?

o yes but fresh home made pasta absorbs the sauce and we use sauces in moderation. In other countries they exaggerate the quantity of sauce and you can't taste the pasta... you need the right balance.